A Small Mind At The Theatre

The premise of Our Lady of Kibeho by Katori Hall is one that on paper would seriously not appeal to many peoples perhaps, mixing religion and the background of the looming catastrophe of the genocide against the Tutsi, it maybe alienates plenty of people immediately. However, this is a great shame, as there is much to genuinely admire, and perhaps more surprisingly enjoy of this latest production from Made in Northampton and director James Dacre. Hall's story of this "true event" opens with a confrontation between Sister Evangelique (Michelle Asante) and Father Tuyishime (Ery Nzaramba) over the fact that pupil Alphonsine Mumureke (Gabrielle Brooks) claims to have seen the Virgin Mary. Few believe her at first, ridicule her and bully both her and anyone who supports her, however, soon another sees visions of the Virgin Mary, and then another, and soon this small little college in Kibeho, Rwanda is very much a focal point of attention. Our Lady of Kibeho perhaps t...

The 1997 film The Full Monty is one of the best regarded of relatively recent British films, due to it being both a warm and emotionally strong tale, solid comedy and a wealth of acting talent, and it's no surprise that its very theme has spawned an immensely successful touring stage version. It literally overflows with the opportunity to be performed in front of a, probably mostly female, audience, well, the final scene does, in any case. However, what of the rest, and how about for a male audience member? So to speak. Well, it was time to find out. The first thing that is apparent from The Full Monty stage show, is how faithful this is to the film. Much of the show is what you have seen if you have seen the film, but translated cleverly to the stage, it feels just that little more real and gritty as well. It opens with a nicely staged scene of darkness and flashes of a torch as Gaz (Gary Lucy), his son Nathan (Fraser Kelly) and Dave (Kai Owen) break into their former facto...

The story of Cinderella lives strongly in most peoples memories, perhaps told as a bedtime story, or perhaps a pantomime at Christmas, perhaps less so first experienced as a ballet. It does though perhaps offer one of the best opportunities for someone to experience ballet for the first time (or the second in my case), as its immediately familiar tale allows you to not try to work out what is going on, but to experience the ballet properly from the outset. The first thing that strikes from this production by the Russian State Ballet of Siberia is the quality of it, there is a striking full height digital projection throughout the show, which moves us from location to location with it's switching backdrop. It doesn't, as sometimes can feel, a cheap alternative to a physical set, and instead keeps the piece flowing better, with concentration purely on the dance. This projection is also neatly used as an interactive element at one point with the mirror of what Cinderella is to...